Weekends Off NS Camp: Basic Military Training Camp
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Hi All,
As we are currently overseas, could one of the experienced men on this forum please tell me whether my son will expect to have any time away from base e.g. weekends etc. while on BMT? I need to know because I need to make arrangements for him to stay with friends while off base and would be good to know how often he would get any breaks and normally how long is each break. Thank you all for your kind help to a worried Mum.
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5 days workweek with
1) Weekends off2) 14 days Annual Leave (28 days for 2 years of NS)
3) The time breaks are tea and coffee breaks.
To sum up, it's not a holiday camp during school years as it's a military camp.
The NS period is just like an adult working a full-time job.More info:
1) http://iprep.ns.sg2) http://tv.ns.sg/web/default/home?p_p_id=video&p_p_lifecycle=0&articleId=15236
3) www.ns.sg
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First 2 weeks in camp.....
After which, every Saturday off base...
After BMT, depends on the unit. -
There is a starting 2 weeks confinement period for BMT.
Normal bookout practice for BMT is Saturday morning, book-in is sunday night.
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But that is not right. On top of what they say.
Not all personnels stay in most of the time.
My first 10 weeks were "stay in" in Tekong and I got MC to go home more than once. Then after that I was posted in a stay out unit and only went to camp during office hours and stayed home for the entire next 2 years, except for over-night duties camp. And in between there were offs here and there.
I still remember my sgt call my mother to fetch me at the jetty.
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I need to know because I need to make arrangements for him to stay with friends....
So much for a "Good" parent, throw your son back for National Service while the whole family is oversea! If you support your son, make sure one of them accompany him back for his 2 years compulsory task. Its your duty since you want him to "serve" NS. He serve the Nation, you give moral support!
Its not easy to be here alone... be responsible.
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Hi Agthatsme,
The military operates on a 5.5days work week. This means that by right, he is supposed to be in camp from Mondays to Fridays and on Saturday mornings. However, what is practiced is much different. Depending on training demands and the availability of training resources such as location (military training area in Singapore is scarce and is therefore shared by many different factions), he may be required to have trainings during his weekends. However, if this is the case, he will be given off in leau.
Most enlistees with a diploma and above, will very likely be given the chance to be a commander. As such his Basic Training in total will be somewhere between 9 months (for specialists) to 1 year (for office cadets) inclusive of the 3 months of BMT.
His annual leave during this period is allocated by the military during appropiate periods, as due to limited national service liability period, his training will be quite intensive, therefore he may not be able to take leave as and when he would like to.
Now, if he is alone in Sunny Singapore, you might also want to note that many trainees bring back lots of laundry. They do have the option of washing their clothes in camp, however commercial laundry services are not available in ALL camps and there are no washing machines in the Basic Military Training Centre. So you might want to take this into consideration.
Also, in some scenarios, your son, may request from his Officer Commanding (OC) if he can stay in camp on weekends, though this arrangement would be approved on a case by case basis depending on the resources available for your son. Though i highly recommend that you provide him with accomodation off base for his off days.
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Goodness me, what a wonderful source of help and information you gentlemen are. Thank you so very much! I am very relieved that he will have some time off reasonably regularly. We will take good note of the details you have provided incl. the tip on loads of laundry (nothing changes as my son plays rugby 4 times a week now...
). My son will be enlisting in June after he completes his International Baccalaureate, do his service and then further studies if he wishes.We will make sure he has a comfortable place to R n R on his time off as I am sure a break from the camp would be very welcome. Actually he is looking forward to the experience as he has lived away from Singapore most of his life and sees this as an opportunity to make new friends and physically and mentally challenge himself as well as have some independence from his parents.
Once again, thank you all for putting my mind at rest, you're a great group.